Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-08-05
SANITARY SCHOOL HOUSES.
where and How They should be Built ant
How Heated and Ventilated.

portant The best location for school
house is Oh an elevation, from which the
ground slopes in every direction, a natu-
raj mound or knoll, but not on high hill. |
The soil should be gravelly, thus alfording
natural drainage Where these natural |
advantages cannot be had, the site select |
ed should admit of and have thorough |
artificial drainage. 1t should not be in
the vicinity of a marsh, nor any stagnant
water, nor on filed ground unless the |
ground was originally dry and filed with
clean gravel. Trees are desirable but not
necessary. If they abound they should |
not be near enough to shade the building, |
which should get the sun and air freely. |
Much more light and air are required
than for dwellings, and shops. The lot
should be sufficiently large that no. more
! than one-half of it should be covered by
| the building, which should be AT least
| GO feet from any other building. mol
school house should be built in the vcini-
ty. OF any mill, factory, machine SHOP,
! railroad station, or other place where
| there is likely to be noise or confusion.
The social character of a neighborhood,
| and moral nulsances are also sometimes
| necessary to he considered in deciding
| upon the location of a school house.
! " here it is possible the lot should be
large and furnished with more or less of
the common apparatus for outdoor gym.
nastic exercises.
The height of the school building above
| the ground will depend upon the oh 1rac-
ter of the soil if it is naturally dry the
building may be near the ground if
drainage is necessary, the building should
be put upon an elevated foundation. IN
any event, free circulation of air should
| be provided Tor, and the sub. floor space
should be perfectly dry.
| The material for construction should
| be the same as that adapted for the best
houses If brick or stone is used, damp
proof layers are important, as well as
wanscoting and deeper Turing than
usual. Buildings should never be more
than two stories high. Thirty-eight by
90 feet is about the model size aud shape
of rooms, according to the best authoTi-
ties and about l2 feet in height These
| dimensions are determined by laws as to
| light, sound and capacity. This size is
| adapted to accommodate 40 pupils.
| The area of window space, if in a city
or Village with other buildings in the
vicinity, should not be less than one
fourth of the floor space In the open
country the window space may be some
, what smaller. The window stills should
never be placed lower than three and a
half feet from the floor, and the windows
should extend upward nearly to the cell
| ing. It is best to have the light diituse
| itself from above the level of the pupils.
]
ceiling serve to send down the light.
Porticos or projecting roofs, or window
ornaments should not be placed on the
outside so as to in the least oDstruct the
light Windows should be placed on the
sides of the ROOM If the room is not
over "a feet wide the windows may be
upon one side only, and that upon the left
of the pupils as they sit at their desks.
Light may be admitted from behind TIE
children, but never in front
The doors should be wide and open out
ward, and SHOULD be on the opposite sideI
of the room from the windows.
No school building is perfect frem san-
tary point of view, which does not contain
proper facilities for the care of wraps, over
shoes and umbrellas. These rooms should
not be closets, but such as can be thorough
ly ventilated. A wash room is very conVen-
lent, perhaps it may be said, necessary.
1t need not be large, but should be Il sep
nrate room. 1t will greatly promote clean
illness. Children must at all times have
plenty of water. The water supply, then,
should be abundant, wholesome and con- !
venient of access. In common country
school rooms the ordinary stove is used |
for heating. This should be provided with |
sheet iron or galvanized iron jacket, |
extending high enough above the stove
that the air may be,Well heated and leaving |
space from four to six inches all around /
the stove. This jacket should be opened |
at the top and closely fastened to the floor |
at the bottom. A pipe not less than six |
inches in diameter should pass through |
the floor under the stove and be carried |
out through the underpinniug to the eX- |
ternal air. Thusa current of pure air, !
from out of doors, warmed by the stove |
will be constantly poured into the room, |
and Will dltluse itself so that those most |
remote from the stove will be warm and |
those nearest will not be overheated
Windows and doors are the natural |
il..f, lN,,t 1, L, !
to flush the rooms with fresh air during |
recess or after school hours. When the |
JaCheted stove is used, the foul air may be |
got rid OF by lowering the windows from |
the top or better. by raising the lower |
sash and placing under it a strip of board |
so that the air may pass out between the |
upper and lower sash
Each pupil should have from % to 80 |
cubic feet of fresh air to breathe every
minute. OfcOurse, the oftener the air is |
changed the smaller may be the space oc-
cupied. But how to change the air with
out creating unpleasant and dangerous
draughts is the grand problem Of ventila-
ton. In rooms such as those mentioned |
above the entire air will by ordinary |
means, be changed about three times an
hour, without creating an Objectionable |
current. But, to give each pupil the
requisite amount of fresh air. it should be
changed six or eight times an hour. Foul
air, particularly among children, causes
dullness, nervousness, headache, colds, !
catarrh, and numerous other disorders. |
Hence toui air must be got rid of in some
way. The jacketed stove with the par
TALLY opened windows will accomplish
this for sgnle rooms, although Imperfect
~, especially If the rooms are large. But |
If several rooms are to be heated by fur
mace in the basement, special 1lues must
be made for the egress of the bad air. 1t
Is better to have the registers for the inlet |
OF warm air on the inner sides oft room,
and above the middle. Thus the warm
air Will pass across the room toward the
windows, the cool air from which will |
give tendency to fall downward, then
flowing along the floor, still retaining
considerable warmth, it will keep the
feet of the pupils warm, and will pass out
of registers near the floor, in the wall of
the room, upon the same side in which
are the inlets The registers of egress
be some larger than those of iugress, and |
must be connected with ilues, extending
to the roof, and that can be heated, thus
creating current which will draw
out the bad mir Tine smoke nine of the